a) always get the name of the journalist, their contact details and the publication he/she claims to represent;

b) establish the exact purpose of the conversation and the context in which any information will be used (including an outline of the article, the intended date of publication and who else has been approached);

c) establish the exact terms on which you are speaking ie on the record (you can be quoted directly), non-attributable (you can be quoted but not by name eg. "sources close to X said"), for background information only (you are educating not commenting publicly);

d) if it's someone you don't know and trust assume you are on the record;

e) remember that mixing terms within the same briefing usually goes wrong as neither side ever has the same memory over which bits were on the record or not;

f) take contemporaneous notes;

g) agree at the end what has been said and on what terms; and

h) if you are at all unhappy with the conduct of the interview, ring back and speak to the editor.

RDFRS US:
The mission of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science is to support scientific education, critical thinking and evidence-based understanding of the natural world in the quest to overcome religious fundamentalism, superstition, intolerance and suffering.